HP says the HP ZBook x2 is (currently) the “world’s most powerful detachable pc” and that is no idle talk. Chock-full of workstation grade components in an aluminium-magnesium chassis, the ZBook x2 outpaces its closest competitors easily.

The first thing that jumps at you when you look at the ZBook x2 is its size and dimension. Coming in at a hefty 1.6kg (or 1.8kg with the keyboard) for a 2-in-1, the ZBook x2 is no tablet supermodel, but bigger (here) is definitely better. With the chassis real estate you will able to spec this baby all the way up to an 8th Generation Intel Core 2.4Ghz i7-8650U quad-core processor with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 2TB PCIe SSD storage. The ZBook x2 is also no slouch in the graphics department, packing some serious rendering heat in the form of a NVIDIA’s Quadro M620 with 2GB DRR at it's highest specs.

For a tablet PC, HP has managed to fit quite a few ports on the ZBook x2. You get a HDMI, two USB 3.1 Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 3, a USB 3.0 charging port, an SD card slot and a headphone jack.

With its 14-inch 4k anti-glare multi-touch UHD display, the ZBook x2 comes in as the perfect digital canvas for artists and designers. The screen has a texturised matte surface, mimicking the surface of a drawing tablet to give you a more pleasant drawing experience. Included with the ZBook x2 is a bespoked Wacom EMR pen that responds instantly to every nuance of your hand, giving you a pen-like experience. HP claims that the Wacom EMR pen is their “most accurate and expressive" pen yet with a natural tilt, almost zero latency and 4,096 pressure-sensitive levels.

As with all tech things that are awesome, the ZBook x2 is not cheap. Be prepared to cough up around RM7,500 for the basic model and then some more if you want upgrades as the price goes up, up, up and up again from there. For us at LoopTalk, the ZBook definitely falls into the “if I can afford it, I will definitely buy it” category. Combining versatility and power in a portable form factor, the ZBook x2 is, dare we say, a more impressive alternative to the Surface. For all you digital artists out there, if you need more convincing then look no further than the two videos below from your fellow designers.